Local gridiron standouts Renfrow, Goffigan, Thomas hoping to live out title dreams

Hunter Renfrow has to feel like he keeps winning the lottery.

When the former Socastee star quarterback spurned scholarship offers from smaller schools in 2014 in lieu of a walk-on spot at Clemson, he cited life after football and earning the best degree he could. He got the best of both worlds this past summer when Tigers coach Dabo Swinney placed him on scholarship.

Playing for the College Football Playoff national championship?

“You dream it, obviously. You dream about playing the biggest games as a kid,” the Clemson receiver said in advance of Monday’s game against Alabama in Glendale, Ariz. “But you don’t always think it’s going to happen. I was realistic that it might not.”

Oddly enough, Renfrow is one of three former Grand Strand high school football standouts who can say they have or will play in their respective college football division’s national title game.

Conway’s Spencer Goffigan will suit up for Jacksonville State in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision’s championship against North Dakota State on Saturday in Frisco, Texas. Former Myrtle Beach linebacker Octavius Thomas, now at NCAA Division-II Shepherd (W. Va.) did the same in December when the Rams fell to Northwest Missouri State in that tier’s final.

Only the NCAA Division-III championship between Mount Union (Ohio) and St. Thomas (Minn.) was devoid of local representation. Together, Renfrow, Goffigan and Thomas have added a bit of bragging rights to the area’s high school football scene. But their individual stories led them to a place only they can truly appreciate.

For Thomas, he was named The Sun News Toast of the Coast Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 after racking up an eye-popping 187 tackles for the Seahawks. Still, his 5-foot-8 frame wasn’t enough to warrant offers from bigger schools. After numerous visits, he selected Shepherd and hit the ground running.

So far in three seasons, he’s started 34 games (he missed two this year with an ankle injury), racking up 186 total tackles and earned all-conference honors twice. Ten of those tackles came in the championship loss in December.

“When we had our meetings during the camp, that’s all we talked about,” he said of the playoff run. “We had the potential to not only get there, but to win it. … Definitely going in my last ride, the big thing is to take one step at a time. We preach one week, one game at a time. But the ultimate goal is to get back to the national championship game.”

Goffigan’s journey will end Saturday in a Jacksonville State uniform he wasn’t sure if he’d even be able to wear this year. After leading Conway in receiving yards in 2009, he turned down other similar offers to attend JSU. However, he missed his freshman season with an injury and then his sophomore year while dealing with a family health issue.

The NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility, and he made it count.

This season, he’s recorded 12 receptions for 130 yards and as a blocker has played a significant role for an offensive line that has helped the Gamecocks to 7,700 yards of total offense and an average of 41 points per game.

“To come back and play this year, it’s such a blessing,” said Goffigan, who already has an undergraduate degree in exercise science and will wrap up his Master’s degree in Sports Management in August. “I got to get better and help my team out and get this program to the point it wanted to reach. It was surreal to think that we’re finally going to the national championship and that we’re playing a team like North Dakota State. This is something we’ve been working toward all year. This is something we established as our goal last January.”

Likewise, the goal for Clemson and Renfrow was identical at the top college level of the sport.

And like the other two former Myrtle Beach-area prep players, he’s done his part to help his team get to the top. His 26 receptions have gone for 404 yards and three touchdowns. One of those scores came against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve, helping the Tigers advance to the National Championship Game.

He has similar aspirations against the Crimson Tide. By that point, he also hopes to have helped the alums of local schools put another notch on their 2015 seasons.

“Hopefully,” Renfrow said, “Jacksonville State can win on Saturday and then we can make it two out of three.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Local gridiron standouts Renfrow, Goffigan, Thomas hoping to live out title dreams."